"Tell me about yourself."
Of all the questions you can be asked in an interview, in a bio request or at a networking event, it is probably the one we answer least honestly. Not because we don't know ourselves, although some people really don't, but because we've been trained to reach for titles, especially performative ones or ones that make us look good or feel good or important, like, I am a manager. I am an expert. I am a visionary. But titles, as we all know, have an expiry date.
So instead of the usual answer, I will keep it simple.
The Foundation
Let’s start with the roots or foundation if you will. I am originally from Kingston, Jamaica. In the context of family, I am the second son for my mother, and the second-to-last child for my father. My faith in Jesus Christ is the most important thing in my life. It shapes how I see the world, how I see myself, and it will underpin a lot of what I write on this page. You, the reader of this blog, also believe in something that shapes your worldview. For me it is Jesus and I make no apologies for it.
The Everyday Stuff
I was born in a tropical climate and I am, without question, a summer person. I love to travel, especially in the summer. You won't catch me booking a winter getaway to somewhere warm only to land back in the cold a week later. The post-vacation blues is a tax I choose not to pay. Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about.
When it comes to food I have a thing for fried chicken. While the world knows Jamaica for Jerk Chicken, a fried chicken box lunch was a daily standard on the lunch menu in the school lunch cafeteria or at the various food establishments around the city. Of course I love Ackee and Saltfish with fried dumplings, fried plantain, or a good Mackerel Rundown with boiled green bananas when the opportunity comes around. I don't eat them as often as I'd like, but when I do, I savour every bite. Otherwise I am not really a picky eater.
Sports-wise, if I had been an athlete I'd have been a 100m sprinter. These days it's tennis in the summer. Every four years I join the excitement and go all in following the FIFA World Cup, the football you actually play with your feet. It is the greatest sport on earth. I will not be taking questions.
The Work
Professionally, I work a regular corporate 9 to 5. For most of my career that work has been in Data Governance and Data Management, and it wasn't a straight line getting there. I studied foreign languages in undergrad. Career paths are their own conversation, maybe their own series. What I'll say is I found something I don't mind doing, and that's kept me in it.
If you want to hear my thoughts on Data Governance and Data Management, or see data related projects I have worked on, that lives over at jeremytalksdata.ca. This site is for everything else.
Why This Blog
This site you are on is where I will delve deeper into topics of interest, explore the "why" behind the "what”, the things that remain when the laptop is closed, the data sets are stored away, and the hype fades.
I've been called a lot of things in my life, some flattering, some less so. None of it changes who I am. I've deliberately kept the "I am" statements to a minimum here, because I'd rather define myself by things that last than by titles that don't. So for me it stays simple. I am human. I am a son. I believe in Jesus Christ. I am a child of God. Everything else is secondary.
So who are you?
Not your job title. Not your follower count. Not the version of yourself you perform online.
When all of that is stripped away, how do you define yourself? Drop it in the comments. I'd genuinely like to know.